P. biarmicus, Lin. &c. including the Russicus of Gmel. Bearded Titmouse, or Least Butcher Bird of Edwards. Rufous, with a hoary crown ; head bearded ; vent black ; tail longer than the body. This elegant bird is about six inches one quarter in length, of which the tail makes one half. It is pretty numerous in Holland, less so in Den mark and Sweden, but common on the borders of the Cas pian Sea, and the Palus NIceotis, not advancing farther north in Asia. Its invariable haunts are reedy marshes, which are seldom accessible, and, consequently, the his tory of the bird has been but imperfectly unfolded. It has been ascertained, however, that it breeds in some parts of England, and that it remains with us all the year. The nest is placed near the ground, among reeds or rushes, .compactly formed of the tops of dry grass, mixed with reeds and rushes, and interspersed with small oblong leaves, and always above the highest water mark. The female lays from five to eight reddish eggs, with large brown spots, which are very numerous about the larger. end.
P. pendulinus, Lin. Scc. including Xarbonensis, Gmel. Penduline Titmouse, or Bemis, Mountain Titmouse of Albin. Head sub-ferruginous, black band beneath the eye ; quills and tail feathers brown, and margined on each side with rust colour.
The penduline titmice inhabit Poland, Russia, Hunga ry, some parts of Gel-many, Italy, the south of France, and also Siberia, haunting marshes, concealing themselves among the rushes, and conducting themselves with so much craftiness as to he hardly ever taken in snares. But the most interesting fact which has been ascertained with respect to their natural history is the superior sagacity and skill with which they arrange and construct their nests. With their bill they entwine the light and filamen tous down that is found in the buds of the willow, poplar, and aspen, on thistles, cotton-grass, dandelion, flea-bane, &c. and form it into a thick close tissue. This they strengthen outwardly with fibres and small roots, which penetrate into the texture, and in sonic measure compose the frame-work of the nest. They line the inside with the same sort of down, but without weaving it, that their young may lie soft. They shut it above, to confine the warmth; and they suspend it by nettles, hemp, Stc. from the cleft of a small pliant branch, hanging over the stream, at once for the sake of security, and that it may rock more gently, being assisted by the pliancy of the twig. In this situation, the brood are well supplied with insects, and at the same time, protected from lizards and other reptiles. The nest varies considerably in its form, sometimes re sembling an elongated bag, sometimes a short purse, and sometimes a flattened bagpipe, &c. The aperture is
made in the side, and is almost always wined towards the water, generally round, and often, though not always, sur rounded by a brim. These nests are found in the fens of Bologna, Tuscany, the department of the Upper Garonne, and Languedoc, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and even Siberia, in some of which countries the peasants regard them with superstitious veneration, one of them being sus pended near the door of every cottage, as a charm against lightning. Cajetan Monte has given us a figure of one of them, and Daniel Titius of two ; and it is remarkable that these three sorts differ not only from one another, but from that figured by Bonani, both in respect of size and form. The largest was seven inches long, and four and a half wide, and was found suspended at the fork of a small branch, with hemp and flax ; the smallest was five inches and a half long, of the same breadth at its upper part, and terminated in an obtuse point; while that of Monti was pointed both above and below. Titius was led to suspect that the pendulinc titmice make only a rude essay in con structing their first nest ; that the sides are then thin, and the texture loose ; but that they improve in each subse quent attempt ; and that, as their diffidence and mistrust grow on them, they add firmer coats on the outside, and softer ones within. About the end of December, I 69 t, near Breslaw, a female siskin was found in one of those nests, with a young one, and three eggs not yet hatched, so that we may presume that the nests of the penduline titmouse subsist from year to year. Thins adds, that we need not wonder to find the siskin hatching in winter, since the crossbill does the same. The remiz lays from four to six white transparent eggs, with a remarkably thin shell, about the size of those of the wren, and marked with some rufous spots.
P. Cantnsis, Gmel. Lath. &c. Cape Titmouse. Cine reous-grey quills black, margined with white ; tail black above, and white beneath. Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. The male assists his mate in the construction of a luxurious nest, chiefly composed of the down of a spe cies of ?iscienias. Near the upper end projects a small tube, about an inch in length, with an orifice of about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Immediately under the tube is a small hole in the side, that has no communi cation with the interior. In this hole the male sits at night; and there both he and the female are secured from the weather. In working at the nest, the former strikes his wings forcibly against the sides of it, and thus re duces it into the form of a compact elongated ball. The eggs are placed in the centre, w here they are safest and warmest.